The field of the invention generally relates to hinges, and more particularly relates to hinges with stops.
An appliance such as a top loading washer typically has a door or lid that closes down into a recess so that the cabinet top will be flat when the door is closed. In one prior art hinging approach, the door has a plastic pin extending laterally from both sides at the rear. These pins, which are rigidly connected to the under side of the door, extend through respective apertures in the side walls of the recess. Accordingly, the door is opened by lifting at the front and the rear pins define the hinge axis about which the door rotates. In an alternate embodiment, the pins are connected to the cabinet top and extend laterally in from the recess walls where they are received in apertures in the door. In either case, it is a drawback not to have a stop which prevents rotation of the door past a predetermined angular orientation. For example, it is desirable to have the door rotate past the vertical orientation so that it will remain open, but it is undesirable that it rotate until it contacts the control console. If it does contact the control console, the door can inadvertently cause activation or deactivation of certain operating functions. Also, contacting the control console may cause damage to the door or the control console. Further, if the door contacts the rear wall of the recess before it engages the control console, porcelain may chip off the door or the rear wall of the recess where they engage each other.
A prior art approach for providing a positive door stop uses a wire pin hinge that extends from the door into holes in the side walls of the recess, and has an arm bent at a right angle in a downward direction. When the door is closed, the arm extends downwardly at an angle which is preferably greater than 90.degree. rotation from the forward direction. As the door is rotated upwardly, the pins rotate about their lateral axis and the arm, which is at a right angle thereto, rotates upwardly until it engages the under side of the cabinet top. The stop is thus provided at an angular orientation before the door contacts the control console or the rear wall of the recess. This approach has the advantage of providing a stop mechanism which is not visible to the user. More specifically, when the door is closed, there is no stop protruding upwardly from the door, cabinet top, or console. However, this approach has significant drawbacks. First, strain is localized such that contact of the arm on the under side of the cabinet top may cause the cabinet top or the arm to bend if a relatively strong force is applied. Bending of the arm would generally require repair or replacement. Bending of the cabinet top could cause the porcelain on the upper surface of the cabinet top to crack or craze. Further, the assembly of this hinge structure is difficult and costly.
Another hinge approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,369 uses a base hinge portion secured to the bottom of the recess. The base hinge portion has spaced pivot arms which engage respective recesses in the other hinge portion which is connected to the lid. This hinge structure, however, does not have a positive stop, and relies on the contact of the door with the rear wall of the recess to stop rotation of the door. Accordingly, it is also subject to chipping porcelain off the door or the rear wall of the recess.